Sift the flour, cocoa powder and mixed spice into a bowl. Stir in sugar. Stir in the beetroot, eggs and butter. Add chocolate and vanilla extract. Stir until just combined. Spoon among the prepared pans. Smooth the surfaces. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.

Step 3

Spread the icing over the muffins.

Fresh beetroot has a natural subtle sweetness that comes alive when it's roasted or cooked in desserts, such as these delectable cupcakes.

Ratings & Comments

Ratings & Comments

Took the advice from previous review - I creamed the butter and sugar, then added the eggs, flour, chocolate & beetroot. I also finely grated the cooked beetroot,I didnt have the right amout - only 250g. I also cut down the sugar and added white chocolate chips. They turned out beautiful and light. Since I added the chocolate chips, I also skipped on the topping. Really really nice and a great for school lunches.

0gracewalls90 added this comment at
06:42pm Wed 11th June, 2014

It didn't say what to do with the raw beetroot

admin replied at
11:45am Thu 12th June, 2014

Hello gracewalls90, the beetroot is grated in step 1 and added to the mixture in step 2. It is not cooked separately. I hope this helps, Regards, admin

4.5jeneve added this comment at
01:43am Wed 8th January, 2014

This is sure to become an old favourite: really interesting and delicious flavour and texture

4EmmaJustin added this comment at
06:54am Wed 20th November, 2013

I'd never cooked with beetroot before and I was pleasantly surprised. The beetroot was noticeable to taste but was sweet and went well with the chocolate flavour. I agree with previous commenters, that the cupcakes are not as moist as expected. Definitely do not leave in longer than 25 mins.

4.5mintygirl added this comment at
09:46am Wed 28th August, 2013

I did not grate the beetroot small enough. The beetroot gives a lovely texture to the chocolate flavour.
I am not a beetroot fan, but I was back eating more than my share.

4Dohey added this comment at
10:00pm Mon 13th May, 2013

Delicious!! Best cupcakes I've eaten and the beetroot makes them keep longer, nice and moist. I grated the beetroot so there was no lumps which worked well, but very messy! Wear gloves.. I didn't.

3.5kirstyhann added this comment at
10:41am Tue 29th January, 2013

I agree with other raters, these were nice but not as moist and rich as I had hoped for. I only put a pinch of mixed spice in, as I didn't want it to be overpowering. I also made a chocolate frosting. I don't think the beetroot adds enough in terms of flavour and moistness to warrant the amount of time and mess required to peel and grate it.

kirstyhann replied at
10:45am Tue 29th January, 2013

I made 24 smaller cupcakes. They were more like a muffin in texture than a cupcake however. I think I'll stick to cupcake recipes where you start by creaming the butter and sugar.

4.5sosunlight added this comment at
09:31am Thu 4th October, 2012

I grated a large and a small beetroot in the food processor. Might have been more than the required weight as I could still taste it a little in the finished cupcakes - unusual at first, but the chocolate combination grew on me. Made it a bit more moist by adding 1/3 cup light cream after the butter. The baking time was the same and the result more like a mud cake.

3.5esbullock added this comment at
07:57pm Tue 8th May, 2012

The finished product was a little dry. I cooked 12 large cupcakes instead of 15... I thought 15 was an odd number considering most muffin pans are for 6 muffins!? Not as rich and moist as I would have hoped. Still lovely but I would, perhaps, tweak the recipe next time. I agree that roasting the beetroot and pureeing beforehand might add that extra flavour.

3dholtham added this comment at
03:22pm Sat 21st April, 2012

Just a follow up note, I did not use the Betty Crocker frosting, I made a ganache using chocolate and sour cream instead.

3dholtham added this comment at
03:21pm Sat 21st April, 2012

I loved the idea of these cupcakes and they were quite nice but not as nice as I was expecting. The spices were overpowering (normally I like spices), so if I make them again I will leave out the spices. Also, grating the beetroot was fiddly and I think it probably would improve the flavour to roast the beetroot first then peel and puree it to add the puree instead of grated raw beetroot. I would do this next time too.
The mixture before cooking was a stunning rich deep red brown colour - gorgeous, but when cooked, it was just a chocolate brown colour.